- April 25, 2024
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Tariq Shakir averaged about eight assists a game this season. File photo
Matanzas boys basketball coach Henry Robinson chalked up his first season at Matanzas as a learning experience.
The Pirates lost their fifth game by two points or less this season as Seabreeze defeated Matanzas 46-45 in a District 4-5A quarterfinal Feb. 8 at the Seabreeze gym.
Cole Long hit a layup with 7.5 seconds left to put Seabreeze on top, and the Sandcrabs held on to win their first game of season and advance to the district semifinals against No. 1 seed Mainland on Feb. 9.
Matanzas, which ended its season at 3-23, had defeated the Sandcrabs 65-63 on Jan. 13. This game was just as tight. Seabreeze led by six with less than two minutes left, but the Pirates battled back and went up 45-44 with less than 20 seconds on the clock.
Long was fouled on his go-ahead basket, but he missed the free throw, and the Pirates had a chance to win at the buzzer. They brought the ball up past halfcourt and called a timeout with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Robinson drew up two options. Seabreeze shut down option No. 1. The second option was sophomore point guard Tariq Shakir driving to the basket. Shakir dribbled down the middle of the lane and put up a layup under pressure that didn't fall.
The Pirates will lose eight seniors, including two of their leading scorers in Ty Smith (12.1 points, 9.8 rebounds) and Dawson Tanner (9.6 points). But they will return Shakir, who averaged about nine points and eight assists this season.
“I feel we have one of the better sophomore point guards in the whole state,” Robinson said. “Not too many sophomores average eight assists.”
Matanzas' first-year coach believes Shakir, forward Jude Lukaszewski (10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds) and other returning players will help provide a foundation for the program.
“We get to build from the ground up,” Robinson said. “We had only three players who played at all last year, and they were role players. We spent the year teaching kids how to play basketball. We didn't win a lot of games, but I still had fun. I’m learning the community. We have some good eight graders coming up, and some good seventh graders behind them.”
